I am very grumpy after my "entry evaluation" with the faculty graduate adviser of my new program. Despite having something more than 72 credits of courses through my program at BA U, it looks like I will have to retake many classes. The problem is that most of my classes at BA U, weren't officially listed in "head studies". That's because there was no department of "head studies" so now they want me to take five out of seven breath requirement courses as well as the language requirement. Seriously, it's like my MA doesn't count at all. Arg. I thought I had researched this.
Problem #1: They might be right. My transcripts look horrible, they are filled with independent studies and group studies, courses that don't say anything on them. So it might be better for me to have a transcript that looked like I went through an actual program.
Problem #2: I will likely be very bored sitting through all these requirements and I don't tend to focus well when I'm bored.
Problem #3: This will slow down my time to degree and I have already spent waaaayyy too much time in grad school.
ARG!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
PhD requirements
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5 comments:
That sounds icky -- and possibly a case of institutional snobbery?
On the other hand -- I'll give you a few advantages... I'm assuming you moved from a program at a lower ranked program to a higher ranked one.. (which isn't something I know -- but, you moved for a reason).
1) You have an opportunity to take those classes with big-shots -- so having their names on your transcript helps.
2) It is possible that those courses will cover a larger segment of material than at your prior school and/or do so in more depth -- so you could learn something.
3) Because you are already familiar with the material, you can choose a paper topic much earlier and perhaps develop a few good candidates for writing samples in this field -- letting you claim it as an area of competence. This will make your job hunt more productive in the end.
4) You might be able to put 4 of these classes into one semester, rather than the traditional 3 -- and get them done earlier.
Ouch! Will they let you deal with some of them by taking a directed reading or independent study with a professor there? That might be a way to avoid to much repetition.
Sometimes if you can produce a syllabus for the course you already took, they'll reconsider. . . Do you have syllabi for any of those courses?
I'd do what trillwing advised. But if that doesn't work and if the courses require term papers, can you make them about your research topic? Since you might not have to work so hard to master the basic material, maybe you can put your effort into a really awesome paper that could help you develop your research proposal or even turn into a publishable review. Think Karina is doing that.
Ouch, not sure I have any recommendation for you. I am going thru my PHD right now and I have found some valuable resources. So, for what it is worth WRITEPASS was phenomenal and they helped me complete Write My Essay and Dissertations.
Good luck to you!
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